Fukaloss continued, "I've been a god for over thirteen hundred years. My Water Element and Death Rule are both Lowgod."
"Clap, clap, clap, clap." The three of them applauded, quick to read the room.
Fukaloss accepted their applause without changing expression. "Barn and Declan are on the right path. I once received guidance from a Highgod. Different profound mysteries under the same elemental law can be fused, and the power of fused profound mysteries is more than ten times greater than that of either one alone!"
"Fusing profound mysteries is also easier before you've mastered either one. Once a profound mystery is mastered, fusing it with another becomes much more difficult." Fukaloss looked at Barn and Declan. "So, if you can, try to fuse the profound mysteries you comprehend. It'll greatly benefit your cultivation in the future."
Gideon immediately understood what Fukaloss meant and said respectfully, "I'll do my best to comprehend other laws of the Earth Element."
Barn took the opportunity to communicate with Declan through their souls. "When did you comprehend the Shadow Clone profound mystery?"
"During this seclusion. I looked through those scrolls of Dark Element magic you collected, and gained some insight from a spell called Shadow Clone Technique. For now, I've only just touched upon it. I haven't even begun to comprehend it."
The magic of magical beasts came from their bloodline inheritance—a gift from the Overgod. Which spells each kind of beast comprehended depended entirely on the Overgod's arrangements for that race. The Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon had no Shadow Clone Technique among its inherited spells. Only after looking through Barn's collection had Declan gained some insight into the spell and touched the edge of the Shadow Clone profound mystery.
Barn recalled that during his fight with Gideon, Declan had seemed to shift several meters to the side. In fact, he hadn't moved sideways at all. Instead, two Shadow Clones had overlapped as Declan's true body changed position, making it look as if he'd shifted. Declan still couldn't make the two Shadow Clones act independently.
Fukaloss looked at the three new members of her team and nodded in satisfaction. "You may have had some disagreements in the past, but since none of you has a grudge serious enough to warrant killing the others, let's put it behind us for my sake."
"All right, Miss!" the three answered in unison.
Fukaloss added, "The Ice Prison Royal City requires Ice Blade Squads to have between five and ten members. Once we register officially, we can take missions from the Royal City and receive payment for them."
Now that he was part of the squad, Barn no longer held back. "Miss, I've never spoken with gods before, so I don't know much about the different powers in the Gobada Plane. Could you tell us about them?"
Declan and Gideon nodded eagerly.
Fukaloss cleared her throat and began, "It's like this: the Gobada Plane and the Yulan Plane have existed side by side since time immemorial. For various reasons, powerhouses above the Sanctuary level were forced to come here to make a living. You already know that much."
"We understand." The three nodded.
"As time passed, the number of living beings in the Gobada Plane grew. Eventually, some reached the pinnacle of godhood: Highgod!" Fukaloss paused, then added, "One more thing: gods are divided into Highgods, Midgods, and Lowgods. The Divine Power and soul strength of each level are worlds apart. You'll understand just how great the difference is once you become gods."
Fukaloss took out several brightly colored fruits and handed them to the three, who watched with longing. "It isn't impossible to escape the Gobada Plane. There are five sealed passageways in the entire realm. Whenever the Gobada Plane becomes too crowded, the Plane Overseer randomly opens one of them and releases some of the prisoners."
"To increase their chances of leaving, the first Highgods chose to settle near the passageways. That was how the Royal Cities began: five passageways, five Royal Cities."
Fukaloss bit into a fruit, its juice spilling out. The other three were practically drooling, but still couldn't bring themselves to eat theirs. Carefully, they put the fruits away in their spatial rings, intending to save them.
"As the number of gods grew, many began gathering around the five passageways. Passageways really were opened on occasion. So, in order to get closer to them, the gods began fighting one another."
"The order and hierarchy of the Royal Cities took shape during that time."
By then, Fukaloss had finished her fruit. She sat up straight, her expression growing more serious. "The passageways offer a chance to leave, but that isn't the only reason they're worth fighting over. They also offer elemental energy."
"Since the passageways are separated from the Yulan Plane by only a single sealing array, a faint trickle of elemental energy flows in from the Yulan Plane, creating habitable areas near them. But because of the Gobada Plane's special rules, those areas only extend three miles from each passageway."
"That's the extent of the Five Royal Cities."
Gideon couldn't help asking, "Miss, do we have a chance to enter a Royal City?"
Fukaloss shook her head without hesitation. "No. The minimum requirement for entering a Royal City is godhood or being a god's direct descendant. Even then, each resident has a limited quota for relatives. The population of each of the Five Royal Cities is around ten thousand, and the gods and their descendants claimed all the spots long ago. It's very difficult for a Sanctuary to get in."
Disappointment showed on all three faces.
"Don't lose heart," Fukaloss encouraged them. "With me leading you, you won't have to spend so much time searching for food anymore. You'll have more time to cultivate, and your chances of becoming gods will naturally be much higher!"
"Miss, we belong to the Ice Prison Royal City. You also said that our enemies are the Evil Royal City and the Azure Fire Royal City. What are they like?" Barn asked.
Barn knew about the Azure Fire King and the Evil King. The Ice Prison King was obviously not much weaker. But they were only at the Sanctuary level for now, so the strength of the kings at the top meant little to them.
"Our king, the Ice Prison King, is a powerhouse who focuses on the Water Element. The Ice Prison Royal City he rules lies in the northern part of the Gobada Plane."
"There are four other kings: the Evil King in the west, the Withered Glory King in the south, the Shadow King in the east, and the Azure Fire King in the center. Each rules a Royal City!"
"The kings don't fight personally. They each organize their own armies and wage war against one another, seizing resources from enemy territory," Fukaloss said. "At present, the Ice Prison Royal City and the Shadow City are allies, joining forces against the Evil Royal City and the Azure Fire Royal City."
"Are the Evil Royal City and the Azure Fire Royal City allies?" Declan asked.
Fukaloss shook her head. "No. The Azure Fire Royal City has no allies and keeps to itself. The Evil Royal City is allied with the Wither-Bloom Royal City in the south."
The three nodded to show they understood. Situated in the center but allied with no other Royal City, the Azure Fire Royal City was surely the strongest and most domineering power.
Gideon asked, "Miss, what are the Royal Cities mainly fighting over? What are our missions?"
Fukaloss glanced at them and asked in return, "You're Sanctuaries. I take it you've never seen any plants?"
The three looked at one another. The fruits Fukaloss had given them were still in their spatial rings, but they really had never seen anywhere in the Gobada Plane where fruit could grow.
"Inside the Royal Cities?" Barn ventured.
"Fruit can indeed be grown inside the Royal Cities, but people are packed in there, so there's no room for large-scale cultivation," Fukaloss said. "Actually, there are some places in the Gobada Plane with abundant elemental energy."
The three stared at her, holding their breath as they waited for her to reveal the answer.
Fukaloss pointed overhead, where Spatial Rifts shimmered with rainbow light. "When a Spatial Rift opens, elemental energy surges out of the Spatial Turbulence. For a short time, it creates an area rich in elemental energy."
The three looked up. Even Highgods had to avoid the terrifying Spatial Rifts.
"Some areas in the Gobada Plane have Spatial Rifts that open regularly, close to the ground. Those places can be transformed into environments suitable for living creatures, or even for growing crops."
The three finally understood.
Fukaloss added, "The Royal City armies are the main force protecting these areas. Our Ice Blade Squad is a supplementary force for the Royal City army. Our main task is to raid the enemy's resource sites and seize their resources."
The man, dragon, and bear finally understood why Fukaloss had formed this team. Fresh fruit was an incomparable delicacy to the living beings of Gobada, who went hungry for much of the year.
To gods, these scarce resources were far more valuable than the lives of ordinary Sanctuaries.
Of course, no fruit was worth as much as a god's own life. So the gods didn't take the field themselves. Instead, they kept Sanctuaries under their control and sent them to serve as cannon fodder, while they sat safely behind the lines and reaped the rewards.
Before you continue